The second Hobbit film in the trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, may still be seven months away, but today we get to meet five new characters who will soon arrive on the Middle-earth scene.

What’s cool about The Desolation of Smaug is that not only will we have our first real cinematic look at Smaug the dragon (voiced and mo-capped by Benedict Cumberbatch, of which we’ve already had our very first look right here), but fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s amazing fantasy world will also have a first look at five great new characters: some taken directly from the books and appendices, and others being pure creations of writer-director Peter Jackson.